Hand fan



1932. M. LIGHTER 1,841,137

r HAND FAN Filed Aug. 14. 1929 $12 =EEEEZ W LCL.

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 12, 1932 UNITED. STATES MALVIN LIGHTER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE STICKLESS CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK n r L: 1

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PATENT OFFICE HAND FAN Application filed August 14, 1929. Serial No. 385,939.

My invention relates to hand fans of the type in which sheet material is used, my more particular purpose being to improve the quality of the fan and lengthen the life time thereof, and in so doing to economize to some extent in the use of the material;

, More particularly stated, I seek to produce a fan in which is'incorporated a cardboard blank and. a brace rod, these parts being so formed and arranged as to distribute to good advantage the principal stresses to which a fan of this type are usually subjected.

I seek to so form certain portions of the blank as to improve the reinforcing effect of these portions of the blank relatively to the blade of the fan, and also'to improve the reinforcing efiect of the brace rod used in connection with the blank, and concealed between the blank and the adjacent portion of the fan blade.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several fig- Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved fan, a portionof the'handle being shown as broken away.

'Figure 2 is a section on the line 22 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure 8 is a section on the line 3- 3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

The fan blade is shown at 1, and in this instance is made of cardboard and substan tially circular in form.

The blade 4 is provided with an extending portion 5, integral therewith and having a profile suitable for a handle member.

' Mounted upon the fan blade l, and secured thereto as by means of an adhesive, is a reinforcing blank 6. The main portion of the. reinforcing blank overlies the main portion of the blade and includes a pair of arms 7 7 which extend obliquely upwardly and away from each other along the surface of the blade. The reinforcing blank is formed also witha handle portion 8 which is disposed to mate the handle portion 5 of the blade.

The reinforcing blank 6' is further provided with a pro ecting tongue 9, integral with it and projecting upwardly between the arms a pair of straight edges 10, 10, which are inclined and meet together at a point midway between the arms 7 7, as may be understood from Figure 1.

The reinforcing blank is provided at the lower end of its handle portion with a downwardly projecting tongue 11, integral with it and somewhat like the tongue 9 above described. The tongue 11 is bounded in part by a pair of straight edges 12, 12 which are inclined relatively to each other, as indicated at the bottom of Figure 1.

A brace rod 13, which in this instance is simplya stiff wire, is located centrally between the reinforcing blank 6 and the underlying portions of the blade 4 and its handle ortion 5.

The purpose of the brace rod 13 is to strengthen the handle of the fan, as well as the connection between the main and handle portions of the fan, in which it is thus incorporated and concealed, and to distribute certain stresses, as hereinafter described.

As the ends of the brace rod 13 extend out to the points of the tongues 9 and 11, the reinforcing effect of the brace rod is carried out to the two outer ends of the tongues 9 and 11. Thus the strengthening effect of the brace rod is very effectively localized.

In practice the reinforcing blank 6 and the blade 4, with the brace rod 13 between them, are pressed together very tightly and made to adhere, and under such conditions as to form a pair of ribs 14 and 15 on opposite sides of the fan.

The two extending portions 5 and 8, and a portion of the brace rod 13 secured firmly between them in the manner above described, together constitute a very practical handle- I find that the tongues 9 and 11, reinforced as above described by the two end portions of the brace rod 5, confer upon the fan as a whole unusual strength, combined with a fair amount of flexibility. I

The effect of the tongue 9 is to enable the This projecting tongue 9 is provided with brace rod 18 to be made a little longer, other factors being equal, than would ordinarily bethe case. This increased length of the brace rod, coupled with the extra length of the blank as measured along the brace rod and due to the addition of the tongue 9, strengthens the tan blade in the region between LllQ two arms 7, 7. The brace rod and the tongue '9 both project upwardly toward the tip of the blade, that is toward the portion of the fan blade which is furthest from the handle portion of the blade, and the arms 7, 7 also, considered collectively, projecting upwardly toward the tip of the blade,

but the arms project relatively further upwardly than the tongue and rod. This eilectually distributes the reinforcing effect upon the blade, and thus lessens the tendency for controlled from the blade to bend abruptly in any one place oralo-ng any single proximate line. Because 01" this fact, whenever the tan blade is slightly bent back and forth, under conditions or" actual use, its curvature is less pronounced and is far more evenand symmetrical than would usually be the case. I

My improved fan is braced, notonly by the two arms 7, 7 but also by the tongue 9, and is thus strengthened at three diflerent areas.

This means that the normal and usual bend-- ing stresses of the fan blade are limited and three distinct centers, namely, from the extremities of the arms 7,

7 and from the point of the tongue 9. Not

only that-,but these'three centers'are disposed slightly out of alinement, so that any bending o' the fan blade in this immediate region is well distributed, the stresses being as far as practicable equally distributed and dillused throughout the entire surface of the tan blade.

The net result is that in the practical use of the finished fan the bending of the fan blade, from the group of three centers out to the tip of the fan blade, is such that the curvature or the blade is substantially uniform, and this is true whether the blade be bent but slightly or to a greater extent, depending on how the tan is used.

In other words, whether the fan be used gently or vigorously will determine the exa tent to which the blade will flex, and will thus determine its. degree of curvature; but whether its curvature be muchor little, the curvature will always be substantially uniform throughout the blade.

For the reasons above stated, the life time of the tan is very much prolonged. Not only is the blade less liable to break, but its dillerout parts are less liable to work loose from each other; and generally speaking, the use of the tan is rendered much more satisfactory. V

I attribute these advantages mainly it not altogether to the addition of the tongue 9, and

the consequent lengthening of the brace rod.

'to the end thereof.

' The tongue 11 acts in a somewhat different manner. Like the tongue 9 it conceals the adjacent end portion of the brace rod 11, but it also strengthens the handle completely out Its bracing ei-lect appears to be somewhat better localized by virtue of the form of the edges 12.

By making the edges 12, 12 substantially straight, so as to provide the tongue 11, the

handle members 5 and 8 are rendered less likely to split away from each other while the fan is in use.

.I do not limit myself to the precise construction shown in the drawings and above described, as variations may be made therein without departing from my invention, the scope of which is commensurate with my claims. Y

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is'as follows 1. A hand tan comprising-a blade made of sheet material and provided with an extending portion integral with it, said extending portion being fashioned as a handle member, a blank made of sheet material andprovided with a portion serving as a handle member and with a tongue extending from said last mentioned portion, said blank being separate from said blade and secured thereto so that the handle member of the blank is substantially in registry with the handle member of the blade, and a brace rod located between the two handle members and extending along said blade to the end of said tongue and terminatingflush with said end of said tongue.

2. hand fan comprising a blade made of sheet material and having an extending portion integral with it and fashioned as a handle member, a blank made of sheet material and provided with a'portion serving as a handle member and with a pair or tongues integral with it and extending from it. in opposite directions, said blank being separate from said blade and secured thereto so that the handle member of the blank is substantially in registry with the handle member of the blade, and a brace rod located between the two handle members and extending from the outer end of one tongue to the outer end of the other tongue, said brace rod terminating flush with the outer ends of said tongues.

8. A hand fan comprising a blade made of sheet material and having an extending portion integral with it and fashioned as a hanwith the handle member of the blade, and a brace rod located between the two handle members and extending therefrom to the end of said tongue, and terminating flush therewith.

4. 'A hand fan comprising a blade of sheet material, said blade having an extending portion integral with it and fashioned as a handle member, a blank made of sheet material and provided with a handle member and with i a pair of arms, and also with a pair of tongues substantially flush with the edges of said I tongues.

5. A hand fan comprising a blade made of sheet material and having a main portion and an integral extending portion fashioned as a handle projecting edgewise from the main portion, a blank made of sheet material formed separate from the blade and having a main portion, an integral tongue portion and an integral handle portion, the main portion of the blank overlying the main portion of the blade and secured thereto, the handle portion overlying the handle portion of the blade and secured thereto, the blank thus serving to reinforce the main and handle portions of the blade, a brace rod interposed between the handle portions of the blank and blade extending longitudinally of said handle portions and continuing at one end across a part of the main portion of the blade, and the tongue portion of the blank extending to overlie and conceal the extending end portion of said brace rod.

6. A hand fan comprising a blade made of sheet material and having a main portion and an integral extending portion fashioned as a handle projecting edgewise from the main portion, a blank made of sheet material formed separate from the blade and having a main portion, an integral tongue portion and an integral handle portion, the handle portion overlying the handle portion of the blade and secured thereto, the main portion of the blank being shaped to constitute a pair of arms diverging upwardly and outwardly from the handle portion in opposite directions across portions of the surface of the main portion of the blade and being secured thereto, the blank thus serving to reinforce the main and handle portions of the blade, the tongue portion of the blank projecting therefrom upwardly along the surface of the main portion of the blade at a location between said arms and being of less length than said arms, and a brace rod interposed between the handle portions of the blank and blade extending longitudinally of said handle portions and continuing at one end across a part of the main portion of the blade and along said tongue and terminating beneath said tongue.

7. A hand fan comprising a blade made of sheet material and having a main portion and an integral extending portion fashioned as a handle projecting edgewise from the main portion, a blank made of sheet material formed separate from the blade and being secured thereto so as to strengthen the blade in the region of the blade handle, said blank having a portion overlying the handle portion of the blade and secured thereto and another portion continuing upwardly onto the surface of the main portion of the blade and secured thereto, said upwardly continuing portion of the blade being formed with a plurality of spaced extensions projecting to different distances upwardly therefrom toward the tip of the blade, and a brace rod interposed between the handle portions of the blank and blade extending longitudinally of said handle portions and continuing at one end across a part of the main portion of the blade and extending along and terminating beneath one of said extensions.

Signed at New York city, in the county of Bronx and State of New York, this 3rd day of August, 1929.

MALVIN LIGHTER. 

